This Hot Sauce de Arbol y Ancho is a very spicy tomato style hot sauce. It’s packed full of flavor and depth due to the ancho and arbol peppers. The tomatoes bring a wonderful balance to the overall flavors.
Arbol chiles are a small Mexican chile sold fresh, dried or powdered and are always called arbol. Ancho chiles, on the other hand, are always dried and are called poblano peppers when fresh. I have noticed that stores will often sell poblano peppers as pasilla peppers, which are an entirely different pepper altogether. The chilaca pepper is the fresh chile of the pasilla peppers. I have substituted pasilla peppers if I can’t find ancho peppers with great results.
Recipe – Makes 4 to 5 Cups
- 5 Large Tomatoes
- 1/2 White Onion – cut in half and cored
- 1/2 Red Onion – cut in half and cored
- 10 – 20 Arbol Chile Peppers
- 2 Large or 3 Small Ancho Chiles
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon Mexican Oregano
- 1/4 Teaspoon Cumin
- 1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
- If you like it thinner add 1/4 Cup Filtered Water or to taste
Instructions:
In a large pot, add the peppers and onion and cover with water. Bring to a boil and while waiting for water to boil core the tomatoes.
When the water starts to boil, drop the tomatoes into the water for about 1 minute or until the skins crack.
Dump everything into a colander, let cool, then peel off the skins from the tomatoes.
Remove the stems of all the chilies and remove the seeds from the ancho chiles.
Add everything to a food processor and puree for about 2 minutes then pour into a fine mesh colander and push thru with a rubber spatula.
Scrape the outside of the colander as well to get as much as possible and pour into a container then store in the fridge.
Health benefits:
Tomatoes are great for the heart due to the extreme antioxidant support, niacin, folate and vitamin B6 that help the reduction of heart disease. They are also high in vitamins A, C, K and potassium. The choline in tomatoes helps assist the absorption of fat and reduces chronic inflammation. It also helps with sleep, muscle movement, learning and memory. Tomatoes are high in Lycopene the antioxidant that gives tomatoes their red color. Cooking tomatoes break down the cell walls, which helps to release the lycopene and is better absorbed by the body with a little bit of fat like olive oil. The Zea-xanthin in them helps to filter harmful ultra-violet rays, which protect eyes from “age-related macular disease.” They are also a powerful blood purifier and great for skin and bone health.
Peppers are a rich source of vitamin C, 1 pepper provides 18 % of the daily value for men and 23 % for women. They also have a good amount of vitamin A, which helps skin and eye health. Jalapenos contain phenols, flavonoids and capsaicinoids that help the body fight free radicals, inflammation and promote weight loss. The bioflavonoids are powerful antioxidants and help strengthen blood vessels. They also fight nasal congestion by stimulating secretions that help clear mucus from the nose.
